In the construction sector, there are 56 male apprentices to every female.
Photograph: Alamy

Young women are missing out at every stage of apprenticeships, including being underrepresented, achieving poorer outcomes and being paid less, according to a report from charity organisation the Young Women’s Trust.

The report finds that in sectors such as engineering, women make up a lower proportion of apprentices than a decade ago – for every female apprentice working within engineering there are 25 male apprentices. In construction, there are 56 men to every woman; in plumbing, there are 74 men to every woman.

In addition, the charity reports that young female apprentices receive only £4.82 an hour compared with £5.85 for their male counterparts, making them on average £2,000 a year worse off. They also receive less training than men, with 23% receiving no training compared with 12% of men.

Sixty-five per cent of young female apprentices are concentrated in just five sectors, whereas the same proportion of young male apprentices work across 10 sectors. Furthermore, 16% of female apprentices said they were out of work after their apprenticeship, compared with 12% of men.

Glynn Davies, 25, said she started an apprenticeship in construction but did not complete it due to the discrimination she faced. She said: “I wanted to be bricklayer so I started an apprenticeship with City and Guilds. I was 17 and couldn’t wait to get muddy. From the moment I stepped on to the building site I was automatically treated differently. There was one other woman but we were two out of 20 and it quickly became difficult to persevere.”

Davies said she experienced constant sexist remarks such as “get us a cuppa tea” or “be careful, you don’t want to break a nail”. “When I approached my course coordinator the general response was ‘it’s only banter’ or, my favourite, ‘don’t be emotional’. The whole experience was irritating and emotionally draining so I stopped and went straight into the labour market.”

The report notes that although young women are struggling to break into male-dominated sectors, young men have begun to make inroads into historically female-dominated sectors, such as childcare and health and social care.

The charity warns that the UK may be unable to meet the demand for skilled workers in sectors such as engineering as a result.

Young men have begun to make inroads into historically female-dominated sectors, such as childcare, the report says. Photograph: Alamy

It makes several recommendations for employers and government, including the introduction of a positive action scheme, the collecting and publishing of apprenticeships data by employers, greater availability of flexible and part-time apprenticeships, as well as increased pay and financial support for apprentices, including childcare provision and the introduction of a single national minimum wage for all age groups regardless of apprenticeship status.

Dr Carole Easton, the chief executive of the Young Women’s Trust, said: “I welcome the government’s commitment to substantially increase the number of apprenticeships for young people. I very much hope that everyone, particularly employers and the government, will now take the action Young Women’s Trust recommends to ensure the gender gap in apprenticeships soon becomes a thing of the past.”

The trust has launched an employer pledge encouraging businesses to introduce measures that make apprenticeships work better for young women. Mike Thompson – the director of apprenticeships at Barclays, the first employer to sign the pledge, and a member of David Cameron’s apprenticeship delivery board – called the findings “worrying”.

He added: “How is it that young women are missing out at every stage of apprenticeships? At Barclays, we’re dedicated to equality in the workplace and rather than focusing on gender, qualifications or past experience, we look for candidates who show real potential.

“We need to take action to make sure that women have the same chances, support and pay as their male counterparts; we have some fantastic examples of female apprentices doing extremely well at Barclays.

“We are proud to be the first company to support the Young Women’s Trust pledge to encourage businesses to introduce measures which make apprenticeships work better for young women.”